Paris Hilton is turning her past pain into purpose.
The hotel heiress and entrepreneur is the focus of a new documentary, “Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir.” The film follows the mother of two as she prepares for her first full-length concert at the Hollywood Palladium after the release of her 2024 album, “Infinite Icon.” It also examines how she turned to music during some of the darkest periods of her life.
In 2020, Hilton came forward with allegations of abuse she said she suffered as a teen at Utah’s Provo Canyon School (PCS). The reality TV star said she will continue speaking out to hold abusers accountable and protect vulnerable children.
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“It’s been truly the most meaningful work of my life,” the 44-year-old told Fox News Digital. “I’m so proud that I have turned my pain into such a huge purpose that’s impacted millions of children.”
“I’m going to continue on this fight where, every week, [I’m] talking to senators and legislators, not only in the states, but also in Europe,” she shared. “This is something that I will be fighting for until every child is protected.”
For the last several years, Hilton has testified about the abuse she suffered at PCS. She attended the boarding school for 11 months at age 17 and left in 1999, when she was 18.
WATCH: PARIS HILTON ON TURNING TRAUMA INTO A GLOBAL FIGHT TO PROTECT CHILDREN
Hilton has claimed she was abused mentally and physically, recalling that the staff beat her, forced her to take unknown pills, watched her shower and sent her to solitary confinement without clothes as punishment. Hilton also claimed that she was given nonconsensual cervical exams, The New York Times reported. She said the treatment at PCS was so “traumatizing,” she suffered nightmares and insomnia for years.
The “Simple Life” alum said her ADHD symptoms contributed to her being sent to the facility.
Details of the alleged abuse were previously chronicled in the 2020 documentary “This is Paris.” According to her nonprofit organization, 11:11 Media Impact, it was involved with the passage of the federal Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act and the enactment of 15 U.S. state laws safeguarding youth in residential treatment facilities.
In 2024, Hilton traveled to Jamaica to support seven American boys removed from a “troubled teen” program accused of mistreating students, People magazine reported.
“There’s so much work to be done,” Hilton stressed. “I just want to continue using my voice and letting others know that they’re safe to tell their stories. I know how difficult it can be in the beginning, but it can also be healing. And that’s another message that I want to show the world through this documentary as well.”
In 2020, PCS told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Originally opened in 1971, Provo Canyon School was sold by its previous ownership in August 2000. We therefore cannot comment on operations or patient experiences prior to that time.”
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The school, which described itself as a “psychiatric residential treatment center for youth between the ages of eight and 18,” further stated: “We do not condone or promote any form of abuse. Any and all alleged/suspected abuse is reported to our state regulatory authorities, law enforcement and Child Protective Services immediately as required. We are committed to providing high-quality care to youth with special, and often complex, emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric needs.”
At the time, Fox News Digital spoke with six former students and one ex-staffer of the boarding school, who shared their own stories and corroborated Hilton’s claims.
“It was something that I didn’t talk about for 20 years,” Hilton admitted. “When I got out of there, I was just so traumatized by all the abuse and everything that I had endured. I just didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted to pretend it never happened. The people in these places would instill this shame in you, where you were just so ashamed of what they did to you that you didn’t want to tell anyone.”
“When I started working on my documentary [‘This is Paris’], I learned from the director that this had become a $23 billion-a-year industry, with more than 150,000 children sent to these places every year,” Hilton said. “That’s when I knew I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. I had to tell my story — because if I didn’t, I don’t know if anyone else would have.”
“I had no idea how the world would react,” Hilton reflected. “I was so scared and so nervous. I tried to portray this perfect, fairytale life. But in reality, I was just going through so much. But then, as soon as I told my story, it was just amazing to feel and hear from thousands of people reaching out to me and thanking me for telling my story. They finally felt safe to tell theirs.”
“And now to have changed all these laws and passed bills, I never would have imagined I could have done that as a little girl. So that has been really healing for my inner child, to be the hero that I needed when I was in those places. And that I could be the hero for all these kids in there.”
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Since “This is Paris” was released, other celebrities — including Paris Jackson and Kat Von D — have spoken out about their experiences at that school or others like it. In 2022, Hilton produced the podcast “Trapped in Treatment,” which examined and exposed the so-called “troubled teen industry.”
Hilton is currently supporting the Federal Accountability for Congregate Care Act, a proposed “bill of rights” for young people in congregate care facilities aimed at protecting them from abuse, neglect and coercion.
And for Hilton, the fight continues. She says her focus remains on protecting vulnerable children from institutional abuse.
“I can’t wait to continue this work and to save more children from what myself and so many others went through,” said Hilton.
